Digital Banking | 2022 #7
Weekly news up to Monday, February 14th, 2022
MVO BLOG
REPORT
According to CEO Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase would be even more aggressive in its acquisition strategy. This year, the bank has been quick to grab the headlines for its already disclosed investments in blockchain infrastructure firm Blockdaemon, and Irish FinTech Wayflyer – a revenue-based financing platform for e-commerce merchants. The investment bank additionally acquired a 49% stake in Greek FinTech Viva Wallet.
Fierce competition from FinTech players, as well as US tech giants, has been pivotal to the firm’s ambitious investment approach. However, the financial institution is banking on its plethora of resources to stay ahead of the competition, which has silently reflected in Dimon’s statement – “I expect to win, so help me God.”
In this post, WhiteSight is taking a closer look at the banking giant’s unique investment and acquisition strategy through the years in a bid to battle FinTechs at their own game.
👉 Read the full article by Sanjeev Kumar and Risav Chakraborty here.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Announcing Will Ferrell's investment in Lunar on LinkedIn, the bank posted a 30-second video that shows Ferrell, wearing a blonde wig and facing the camera, repeatedly saying the word "Lunar".
In the post, Lunar said: "We’re so thrilled it’s been tough to keep it to ourselves: We welcome Will Ferrell - actor, comedian, producer, and writer - as an investor in Lunar. “We have great things in the pipeline and luckily he’s ecstatic too."
Ferrell said: “I am excited to take part in Lunar’s mission to give consumers and businesses more power from their money. By joining Lunar I am expanding my engagement in the Nordic countries, which is close to my heart.”
👉 Read the full article here.
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📰 ARTICLE
Tide says 1,000 business customers have signed up to its Open Access service within just a few weeks, topping expectations.
According to Tide CEO Oliver Prill, Tide initially targeted attracting 1,000 business customers in three months.
In November last year, the SME bank opened up its services to non-account holders, allowing small and medium-sized businesses to connect their existing bank accounts to its platform.
It meant, for example, that customers of high-street banks could use Tide without switching banks.
Some analysts heralded the move as a potential game-changer for open banking. Link here.
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NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🌎 DIGITAL BANKING HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Chime was the most downloaded US mobile banking app in 2021, with 12.8 million downloads, up 16% from 2020. Link here.
⭐️ Nubank just released mobile insurance with full coverage. The service is customizable and can be hired directly from the fintech. Link here.
⭐️ Revolut, the global fintech company with 18 million retail customers worldwide, has been granted an Australian Credit Licence by ASIC to offer credit and personal lending products to the Australian market. Link here.
⭐️ American Express launched American Express Rewards Checking (Amex Rewards Checking), the company’s first all-digital consumer checking account, currently available for eligible U.S. Consumer Card Members. Link here.
UK 🇬🇧
UK challenger bank Novus has closed its crowdfunding round after reaching a total of over $3 million, successfully beating its initial target of $1.2 million by over 250%. Link here.
WealthKernel, a provider of digital investment services and infrastructure, launched Instant Matching Deposits powered by ClearBank, the cloud-based clearing bank. Link here.
E-money institution FROST has become a principal member of Visa, a world leader in digital payments, to further its mission of helping working professionals conquer their finances. Link here.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
11Onze became the first community fintech in Europe to introduce a new tool to combat inflation and the accompanying loss of purchasing power: investing in gold bullion. By using its group purchasing power, 11Onze aims to help its loyal customer base buy quality gold at the best prices. Link here.
Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest bank by total assets and one of Europe’s most profitable and sustainable financial institutions, has selected Thought Machine, the UK-headquartered core banking technology company, to power its new digital banking platform. Link here.
Vivid Money, a challenger bank out of Berlin with 500,000 customers, has made a name for itself with a financial one-stop-shop “super app” that, in addition to basic checking and money management services, also includes stock and cryptocurrency investing. Link here.
USA 🇺🇸
Mos has raised a $40M Series B at a $400M valuation, led by Tiger Global Management and joined by returning investors Sequoia Capital, Khaled Helioui, Expa, Emerson Collective, and Lux Capital. Link here.
Kelly Ifill is blazing a trail in the financial services industry; by launching Guava, she becomes the first to open up a digital bank for Black entrepreneurs. It was a long-held dream brought to fruition by the global pandemic and facilitated by a partnership with banking as a service provider (BaaS) Treasury Prime. Link here.
Fiserv has struck a deal to acquire cloud-based core banking player Finxact for around $650 million. Fiserv was an early investor in Finxact and, under the terms of the agreement, will acquire the remaining ownership interest. Link here.
CANADA
Equitable Bank, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Equitable Group Inc., the Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan, and Concentra Bank announced that Equitable has entered into definitive agreements by which Equitable will acquire a majority interest in Concentra, the 13th largest Schedule I bank in Canada with $11.3 billion in assets at November 30, 2021. Link here.
LATAM
BBVA has reached an agreement to invest $300 million (about €263 million¹) in Neon, a Brazilian digital bank founded in 2016 that aims to improve access to financial services for individuals, self-employed and small businesses in its country. Neon has 15 million registered accounts. Link here.
ASIA
Revolut India, the Indian registered entity of UK-based FinTech Revolut, announced the strategic acquisition of international money transfer company, Arvog Forex as part of its multi-million dollar investment into the country. Link here.
Tonik the parent company of Tonik Digital Bank in the Philippines, announced that it closed a US$131M round of Series B equity funding. The round was led by Mizuho Bank, which is one of the largest Japanese banking groups and a Top 10 bank by assets in Asia Pacific region, active in the Philippines since 1981. Link here.
Fiserv, Inc., a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, announced the expansion of its relationship with UnionPay International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China UnionPay, one of the world’s largest payment networks. Link here.
A new neobank designed specifically for couples is set to launch in India. Named Coupl, the digital bank allows users to set up joint accounts and manage their money together, including savings, expenses, and investments. Link here.
AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Australia's Slyp has experienced a significant show of confidence from the country's big four banks, who have joined a further $25 million funding round in the digital receipt startup. Link here.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has acquired a 20% stake in Brisbane-based fintech Paypa Plane. Link here.
MIDDLE EAST
ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, announced the Central Bank of the UAE has granted in-principle approval to launch a new digital banking platform, which will be called Wio. Link here.
The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) has issued guidelines specifying requirements for establishing digital banks as tech-based business models are becoming increasingly vital within the banking and finance sector to support and enhance services offered to customers and contribute to overall economic growth. Link here.
AFRICA
Discovery Limited has launched its comprehensive, real-time forex capability on the Discovery Bank app that gives access to immediate foreign currency transactions. CEO of Discovery Bank Hylton Kallner on Monday said: “Our full forex capability is a key requirement in an increasingly global environment." Link here.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Varo Bank, N.A., the first all-digital, nationally chartered bank in the U.S, today announced the appointment of Jon Alferness as its new Chief Product Officer. Link here.
Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia announced that it has appointed Ikram Khaliq as Head of Digital Bank and has set up a new office to support its growth plans. Link here.
Paysera's Board of Directors has appointed Gintautas Mezetis as the company's new CEO as of February 1. One of the key challenges for the new CEO is the seamless expansion of Paysera into the banking business. The Bank of Lithuania approved the appointment of the new Paysera CEO in December. Link here.
Mox Bank Limited announced two senior appointments for the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the newly-created Chief Data, Security, and Innovation Officer (CDSIO) positions. Christian Piccardi joins Mox as the CIO, and David Walker assumes the new CDSIO role. Both Christian and David will report directly to Barbaros Uygun, CEO, and the appointments are effective from 7 February 2022. Link here.
Backbase, the global leader in engagement banking platforms, has recently appointed Chris Vanden Berghe as Regional Vice President of Technology for Asia Pacific. The new role is based in Singapore and will drive the company’s product localization and development, implementation success, and international expansion. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.